Thursday, July 31, 2008

ANGLICAN AIRS

Riazat Butt in The Guardian observes Anglican bishops meeting at the Lambeth Conference in England (Thursday 31 July 2008)
Indaba is a Zulu concept and refers to a group meeting where conflicts can be aired and consensus can be reached. It is being used at Lambeth as a way for bishops to discover common ground as well as thrash out their differences. Unfortunately some are taking the idea less than seriously, referring to it as indaba-daba-doo or lambada. One prelate was telling fellow delegates that when they are in a pub having a pint they are indaba.
Apart from some bishops' clumsy remarks, the indabas have indeed been useful in sharing stories and forced conflicting bishops to talk with (rather than at) each other. It is method that intrigues me. In my own parish, we use the African Bible Study method (an extrapolation of the very Anglican read, mark, learn and inwardly digest).

Riazat Butt continues
Ventilation continues to be an issue in Canterbury. Mindful of the torrid atmosphere, a representative from the US Episcopal church wandered into a room to deposit some fans. They quickly disappeared.
The metaphors rush through my mind! The disappearance of the fans causes a stifling of a breeze of fresh air (translate: ruach - the Hebrew word for Om/breath or spirit of God).

Other rich ironies of Lambeth
Bishops worry that, to the outside world, the Anglican Communion is obsessed with sex, especially the gay variety. No purpose would be served by highlighting that of the five colleges on Kent University campus - Darwin, Rutherford, Eliot, Keynes and Woolf - one is named after a lesbian and another is named after a homosexual. And let's not mention the agnostic - Darwin - who is now the poster boy for secularists and atheists everywhere.

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